Opposition Leader predicts 'people's revolt' in Australia over carbon tax

Leader of the Federal Opposition in Australia Tony Abbott has made claims Thursday during Question Time in parliament that a 'people's revolt' is looming based on the Prime Minister Julia Gillard's proposal for a 2012 carbon tax.

In what Mr. Abbott describes as a "betrayal of the Australian people", Ms. Gillard announced Thursday that a price for carbon will be put back on the national agenda, for several years, to be followed by the formation of an emissions trading scheme. In the lead up to the 2010 Federal Australian Election, Ms. Gillard claimed that while she might implement a green house gas reduction scheme, "[she would] rule out a carbon tax".

The price on carbon will be applied to industrial and transport emissions but will not, however, affect Australia's agriculture.

The Prime Minister's announcement resulted in a large portion of Question Time being devoted to the issue with a Member of the Opposition being expelled from the House for disorderly conduct. Mr. Abbot then moved to censure the Prime Minister and conclude Question Time claiming "Nothing is more fake than making a promise to the Australian people before the election and breaking it after the election ... I don't believe it's going to happen because I think there will be a people's revolt. They will see this as an assault on their standard of living, which is exactly what it is".

To which the Prime Minister responded "Increasingly Australians understand that the Liberal Party, under the Leader of the Opposition, is a party of the past with no real policies or plans for the nation's future ... You get judged ultimately in this Parliament by what you decide to do and what you deliver, and on this side of the Parliament we are determined that from July 1 (2012) we will price carbon."

The Opposition claims that the proposed carbon tax will cause petrol prices to rise by A$0.065 per litre while energy bills may increase by $300 per year.

Libya blocks access to Internet

The Libyan government has cut off Internet access in the country. The General Posts and Telecommunications Company, Libya's main provider of Internet access, has ceased to function. It was shut down following citizen protests against the country's leader, Muammar Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi, who has been in power since 1969.

The government of Egypt took a similar measure last month, when it cut off Internet trying to quell public protests against the regime. Despite the government's efforts, Egyptians who took to the streets for two weeks were able to oust the nation's president, Hosni Mubarak, after 30 years in office.

Limited access to the Internet makes it difficult to get information from the country. Libya is a country with a smaller population than Egypt, and has fewer service providers, which has apparently made the task of disconnecting everything a little easier.

In Egypt, the military refused to attack people protesting. The situation is different in Libya, where the armed forces attacked hundreds of demonstrators in the square of the city of Benghazi, causing many deaths.

The increasing violence in Libya has prompted the 27 European Union ministers to issue a statement protesting Libyan governmental violence toward protesters, saying it "condemns the ongoing repression against demonstrators in Libya and deplores the violence and death of civilians." Two Libyan pilots have defected to Malta and asked for asylum, saying that they were ordered to fire on protesters, according to Maltese officials.

The violence has spread to Tripoli. Witnesses have reported that a "massacre" occurred today in suburbs of the Libyan capital with the indiscriminate shooting of women and children. According to Human Rights Watch, hundreds have died over the last four days.

The escalating violence is causing turbulence in the world energy markets. The International Monetary Fund says that energy exports accounts for approximately 95% of Libya's export earning.

Kuwait stateless protest for rights

A thousand or more non-citizen residents of Kuwait demonstrated yesterday demanding rights given to Kuwaiti citizens. Police used water cannons in dispersing the protest. There were injuries among both protesters and police, and several protesters were detained.

Citizens of Kuwait receive substantial welfare benefits, including education and health care. There are estimated to be around 100,000 non-citizen residents, called "bidoons" (from bedoun jinsiyya, Arabic meaning without nationality). Many bidoons claim descent from desert nomads who did not apply for citizenship in 1959. Many bidoons live in economic hardship, and cannot get legal recognitions such as birth and death certificates, driver's licenses, and attested marriage contracts.

Interior Ministry spokesman Adil Al-Hashash said "security forces on the ground talked to the protestors in a nice and civilized way", telling them "they should go to the legal channels for their demands rather than protesting." The government says police acted in self-defense after protesters threw rocks.

Independent Kuwaiti Member of Parliament Daifallah Buramia said "[t]he protest of bidoons is legitimate and the government is responsible for this because it has failed to resolve the problem".